Make New York Post a Preferred Source It’s go big or “go ghost” for Saquon Barkley.
The Eagles star running back told The Post he’s weighing two drastically different futures for whenever he decides to hang up his jersey for good.
Barkley is either looking for a high-profile job or completely fall off the radar in a quiet life post-football.
“Being completely honest… whenever I do hang the cleats up, I’m in the middle of wanting to try my best to follow Michael Strahan’s path,” Barkley said of the former Super Bowl champion with the Giants while speaking on behalf of his partnership with C4 Energy. “He was like a big brother to me when I was in New York [2018-2023] and even still.”
Strahan, a five-time Emmy winner and co-host of “Good Morning America,” transitioned to television in 2008 after his NFL retirement following 15 seasons with the Giants. That year, the former All-Pro defensive end joined Fox as an analyst.
“But I think the layout of how to do it, and how you handle yourself,” the 29-year-old Super Bowl champ said. “And I don’t wanna be a guy that’s just only talking about football. I wanna be able to bring the game that I love to fans and talk about football — but I also would love to talk about current events, politics, every little thing.
“I want to step outside the helmet. I want to be more than a football player. And I feel like Michael Strahan has done that. And I would love to be able to, in another way do storytelling. I wanna bring stories to life. I have a passion for history, especially black history. We know that the Malcolm X, the Martin Luther Kings and stuff like that. But there’s so many other people [including Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.] that played a part in and had a role in how I became the person I am today. So I would love to elaborate on that.”
Barkley, who is mostly private about his life outside of football, also can envision a life far away from the spotlight with his family — fiancée Anna Congdon and their two kids, daughter Jada Clare, 8, and 4-year-old Saquon Jr.
There is another side of Barkley that could just disappear after his career.
“As I say all that, that’s half of me — and the other half of me wants to buy a house… with a whole bunch of land and just go ghost and never be seen again,” Barkley said, laughing. “So I’m in between a little bit of both of that.”
View this post on Instagram Barkley explained that he became more confident in front of the camera after the Eagles’ 40-22 win against the Chiefs in Super Bowl 2025.
“I think your acting skills get a little better when you have a lot of practice,” he said. “Especially after winning Super Bowl, I’ve been presented a lot of opportunities to do some stuff on TV. Do I see myself trying to be like the next Michael B. Jordan? I don’t think I would take it that far. But I do want to be on TV, I would love to be on TV.”
The Penn State alum has appeared in commercial spots for Wawa, DirecTV, Old Spice, Moser Watches and Nationwide since winning it all in February 2025.
Barkley, who was drafted by the Giants before signing with the rival Eagles in 2024, went on to describe himself as both “boring” and an “adrenaline junkie.”
View this post on Instagram “When I was playing for New York, and I lived in New Jersey, I guess it was a little easier to go out. Some of my friends, they get on me a little bit — saying we need to get back to the old days and step outside a little more,” he said.
A typical off-day for Barkley may consist of golfing, coaching his daughter’s flag football team or spending time with his family.
“I like golfing. I haven’t golf yet this season. I kind of was my little thing. I want to try to be disciplined and keep golfing away [in-season], but with the way the season is going, I might need to, on my bye week, relax, regroup and play some golf,” Barkley said.
“I love spending time with my family. I like going to gymnastic events to support my daughter. I like going to my son’s flag football games. I coach my daughter’s flag football team.
“I like going to dinners and trying good food. I like wine. I want to become more involved in it. I know a little bit of it, but not enough to say that, to feel confident enough to speak about it. But I kind of, live a boring lifestyle, I guess you can say, outside of playing football in front of hundreds of thousands of people… I stay to myself.”
While Barkley is in his ninth season in the league and approaching 1,900 carries for his career, he is still near the top of his game.
Barkley missed time in October due to hamstring and back injuries after finishing with 1,140 rushing yards in 16 games last season.
And is fighting through various injuries to stay on the field, even though Eagles have lost seven games in a row after a 2-0 start and are decimated by injuries.
Philadelphia placed quarterback Jalen Hurts on injured reserve last month due to blood clots in his calf and lungs.
The Eagles are on a bye this week before playing the Steelers (6-2) in Philadelphia on Sunday.
